Building indigenous AI rooted in Indian languages key to national growth: Govt
New Delhi, Feb 21 (IANS) In an era where artificial intelligence shapes governance, economic competitiveness and citizen services, building AI systems rooted in local languages, datasets and regulatory frameworks is essential to ensure that innovation aligns with national priorities and societal needs, the government said on Saturday.
As India positions itself as a global digital power, the focus is shifting towards developing artificial intelligence systems that are indigenous, inclusive and aligned with the country’s unique requirements, the government stated.
“AI models trained on Indian languages, local data and real-world contexts are critical to making technology accessible and relevant for millions of citizens,” it added.
Sarvam AI has emerged as one of the key players in this space. Built with the vision of creating AI systems specifically for India, the company is developing foundational artificial intelligence models tailored to the country’s linguistic diversity, enterprise needs and governance frameworks.
Its full-stack AI platform has been developed, deployed and governed entirely within India, reducing dependence on foreign AI infrastructure.
At the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Union Minister Amit Shah said that Sarvam AI exemplifies why the future belongs to India.
He stated that the company is ensuring that technology reaches every citizen and supports the vision of Viksit Bharat, where innovation empowers people and strengthens the nation.
Sarvam AI is among the 12 organisations selected under the Innovation Centre pillar of the IndiaAI Mission to develop indigenous foundational AI models.
The company has received financial and computing support amounting to Rs 246.72 crore for this purpose.
Through this initiative, the government aims to strengthen technological sovereignty and promote inclusive digital growth.
The company is building large language and speech models tailored for Indian use cases, especially in public service delivery.
Its AI tools include “Bulbul,” a text-to-speech model available in 11 Indian languages with 39 distinct voices, and “Saaras,” a speech-to-text system that supports all 22 scheduled languages, including telephony audio and code-mixed speech.
Another model, “Vision,” focuses on document understanding across more than 22 Indian languages and can process mixed scripts and handwritten text.
By developing such India-centric AI systems, Sarvam AI aims to address long-standing challenges related to multilingual communication, accessibility and public service delivery.
The company’s models are designed to improve voice-based interfaces, document processing and citizen-focused digital applications.
–IANS
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